Samsung’s own Galaxy Wearable app just confirmed what the next Galaxy Watch actually does, weeks before Samsung says a word about it. A teardown by SammyGuru of a leaked app build shows a redesigned companion app for the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, complete with a wrist gesture that opens Gemini and a handful of health tools nobody outside Samsung’s labs had seen yet. The app itself borrows more from Google’s Pixel Watch playbook than Samsung has ever admitted to in public.
TL;DR: A leaked build of the Galaxy Wearable app reveals a redesigned interface for the Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2, organized around three tabs instead of Samsung’s older settings-heavy layout. The update adds Raise to Talk, a wrist gesture that opens Gemini without pressing a button, plus new health features including Daily Cardio Load, Sound Exposure monitoring, and Trail Run maps. Both watches are expected at Samsung’s July 22 Unpacked event.
The app redesign borrows Pixel Watch’s biggest interface idea
9to5Google’s teardown coverage of Galaxy Wearable version 2.2.70.26060861 found the app rebuilt around three tabs: Home, Watch faces, and Settings, replacing a layout that used to bury nearly everything under one settings heavy screen.
The watch faces tab is where the Pixel Watch comparison becomes obvious. Samsung now shows a large render of your exact Galaxy Watch model and color sitting over the watch face you’re browsing, the same trick Google’s Pixel Watch app has used for years. A floating navigation bar sits at the bottom instead of a static menu, and the whole interface leans on the blue purple gradients Samsung introduced with One UI 8.5.
If you have ever dug through three menus on a Galaxy Watch just to change a watch face, this is the fix. Whether Samsung admits the influence or not, the redesign solves a real navigation problem by copying a solution that already worked somewhere else.
Galaxy Watch 9’s Raise to Talk puts Gemini one wrist flick away
Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 will support Raise to Talk, a gesture that opens Gemini the moment you lift your wrist and start speaking, according to the same leaked app build. No button press, no long hold on the crown, just the motion of raising your arm.
Google built this feature first. Raise to Talk debuted on the Pixel Watch 4 in 2025 as one of that watch’s headline features, and Samsung’s version appears to trigger the same way once the gesture wakes Gemini.
Samsung has been building Gemini into more of its hardware this year, including glasses that skip a display entirely and lean on Gemini to describe what the wearer sees. Raise to Talk brings that same assistant to the watch, without a button in the way.
The Galaxy Watch was always the slowest Galaxy device to reach Gemini, limited to a long press on the home button. That gap matters more than the spec sheet suggests, and Raise to Talk closes it in one gesture, on the smallest screen Samsung sells.
The health features nobody was expecting in this update
Beyond the interface and the Gemini shortcut, the leaked app reveals four new health tools tied to the Galaxy Watch 9 series. Daily Cardio Load recommends how much cardiovascular exercise to aim for based on recent workout history, similar in spirit to the recovery scores other fitness wearables already track.
Sound Exposure monitors environmental noise picked up by both the watch and any connected Galaxy Buds, building toward long term hearing protection rather than a single loud concert warning. Trail Run maps, automatic dive detection, and waypoint saving round out the outdoor focused additions, pointing at hikers and swimmers Samsung has not historically chased as hard as Garmin or Apple Watch Ultra.
None of these features need new sensors. They are software reading data the watch already collects, which is usually a sign an update is close to shipping rather than months away.
| Feature | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Redesigned app (3 tabs) | Confirmed | SammyGuru / 9to5Google teardown |
| Raise to Talk (Gemini gesture) | Confirmed | Same teardown |
| Daily Cardio Load | Confirmed | Same teardown |
| Sound Exposure monitoring | Confirmed | Same teardown |
| Trail Run maps | Confirmed | Same teardown |
| Automatic dive detection | Confirmed | Same teardown |
| Pricing | Unconfirmed, ~10% increase expected | Separate WinFuture leak |
| Release event | Expected July 22, 2026 | Prior Samsung leaks |
Why this leak lines up with Samsung’s price hike timing
Samsung has not confirmed pricing, but a separate leak already pointed to a roughly 10 percent price increase across the Galaxy Watch 9 line versus the Galaxy Watch 8, alongside similar hikes on the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Both leaks point at the same July 22 Unpacked event in London.
Paying more for a watch is an easier sell when the software inside it visibly changes too. A wrist gesture that reaches Gemini and four new health metrics give Samsung something concrete to point at during a keynote that would otherwise just explain a price increase.
The redesigned app also ties into One UI 9, the same Android 17 based software Samsung is rolling out across its phones and tablets this year, so the watch and phone experience should feel more consistent than in past years.
What to actually watch for before July 22
Nothing here is official yet. Samsung has not announced the Galaxy Watch 9, Watch Ultra 2, pricing, or a confirmed feature list, and leaked app builds can still change before a public release.
Anyone deciding whether to wait should treat the interface redesign and Raise to Talk as close to certain, since both come directly from Samsung’s own app code. Pricing is the one piece still resting on a separate, unconfirmed report.
The clearest signal is timing. An app this far along, leaking six weeks before Unpacked, usually means Samsung has finished the software and is just waiting on the calendar.
